"I never thought I would see such a sight in my life," Sergon said, not for the first time.

After her dance with the king had ended, Ciara had pulled away to the edge of the room, where she found the Commander of the Royal Guard.

"To think the day would come when Lodin willingly went to dance."

"Is it really so unthinkable of him to do so?" she asked.

The room had been so quiet when the dance had started and so noisy when it ended. It didn't seem enough that he was the king to make such a commotion, that was true.

Sergon nodded wildly. "Certainly. In all my time of knowing him, he has never stepped out there unless it was strictly necessary of him."

If that was true, then that meant the king had found what she did serious enough for him to have to go and do something like that. Something he probably hated more than anything else.

"I see," she muttered.

What if having done that was enough? Just because she shared a dance with a friend.

Just then, the doors creaked in the tell-tale sound of someone's arrival. The whole room silenced as they all stared up at the balcony. As Ciara turned to do the same, she felt the hairs on her neck stand on end.

On the balcony she and the king had been standing on a little over an hour ago now stood the slender from of Victoria herself. Her dress was a bold red - the only red dress in the entire room - and unlike all others, it also fit snugly down past her hips and only flaring out then. Small stones littered the top and long sleeves, starting just past her tanned shoulders and down till the skirt flared out. It glittered and demanded total attention in the flickering light.

Never in her life had Ciara seen anything like this dress. On any other, she was sure it'd send quite a different message, but Victoria could wear it. And the woman knew it.

Everyone continued to remain silent as she slowly stepped down the staircase, the trail of fabric following her and making her even more elegant.

"Bold of you, Victoria." Sergon's arms were crossed and his gaze unimpressed.

"She can wear it," Ciara replied, not even sure the Commander could hear her at all.

She could see Sergon looking down at her from her peripheral. "This kind of attention is not something to be wished for." He turned back to Victoria briskly. "That is not something you wear so lightly in the Royal Palace," he stated, his tone firm in a way she was certain it never had been in her presence.

She didn't get the chance to reply to or wonder about these words as one of his subordinates came running over.

"Commander! Your presence is required out in the courtyard."

Sergon directed his gaze to the guard.

"What is it?"

The guard glanced around before answering.

"It is the lord of Chrysanthemum, Commander."

Sergon sighed deeply. "Again now?" The subordinate only nodded. "I will be there in a moment," Sergon promised and then looked to her. "I will be back as soon as I can."

She mustered up a smile. "You do not have to worry, I will be fine."

He gave her a short nod, then hurried off with the other guard, leaving her to herself again.

Her gaze quickly returned to Victoria again, who was making her way through the crowd, which was parting for her just as it had the king himself. Even towards the man in question.

She languidly made her way up to him and fell in place at his left. Where Ciara had been standing before. Ciara wasn't the only one who noticed how natural it seemed for her to stand there.

"Oh my! Victoria is so beautiful in that dress!" one young noble lady gasped, maybe and likely one of the ones who had surrounded Ciara earlier.

Another nodded quickly, her hair almost coming undone. "Only she could ever pull something like that off."

"Definitely," the first agreed. "Oh, she fits the king so well!"

Ciara sighed deeply and tuned out of their conversation. As if she didn't already know that. Someone like Victoria would fit the king far better than she ever would.

One of the maids walked by with a tray of glasses filled with a clear, yellowish liquid, and Ciara quickly grabbed one as she passed by. She needed anything and everything that would distract her from the far too perfect pair up there - even if it was just for the duration it would take to empty this glass.

She quickly brought the glass up to her lips and downed its content without another thought. The burning sensation it left in her throat had her coughing in both surprise and sudden lack of breath. Not to mention the bitter aftertaste it left on her tongue.

"You are the Dragon Princess, are you not?" an elderly voice asked behind her, making her whirl around so fast the room sailed for a second. "It was such a brave thing you did at the town square," the man said, his wife nodding along. Both were elderly and graying, but that only made them look even kinder.

Still, she didn't catch what they'd said.

"Sorry, what?" she asked, her voice not as clear as she would've liked it to be.

"The rampaging dragon."

"Oh," Ciara said, heat rushing to her face. "It- it was nothing." It was such a long time ago she was impressed it was even being brought up.

"Certainly not," the woman argued sharply. "It was very brave of you - because of you, my grandson's house was not destroyed in a fight." Her eyes held Ciara's locked in place almost awkwardly.

"O-oh. In that case... thank you?"

The woman nodded as the man spoke up again.

"So, how are you liking it here so far? Are you missing your own kingdom?"

Ciara slowly nodded. "I do. A little bit every day." She felt that familiar sense of longing rise in her again. "But everyone has been incredibly kind to me, so I really do like it here as well." The words fell from her like a waterfall. "Especially Serg- the Commander of the Royal Guard and my two guards, Alex and Elias, have helped me through everything," she blabbered. "And even though everyone was scared of and hated him, they let Kaisog, the dragon, stay with me."

"Ah, yes. The fabled dragon," the man said as though he was only remembering it just now. "I do not believe I have seen it at all today. It does stay here at the castle-grounds, does it not?"

She nodded far too quickly, once again making herself a little dizzy.

"He does. And Sunrose too - my brother's dragon," she said. "I was asked to keep them away from here tonight, because they might otherwise scare our guests." She pouted.

It was unfair. They didn't trust her enough, and they didn't trust the dragons. Not even in her presence. Even if she'd proven time and again that they weren't dangerous.

"Oh, really? That is a shame." The woman sent her husband a look that Ciara deduced was one of disappointment.

So, naturally, she lit up.

"Do you want to meet them? I am sure it will be all right if it is only shortly!"

What harm could that do?

The woman nodded eagerly. "We would love to."

Ciara smiled widely "Great! Let us go to the balcony, then."

She wasn't supposed to leave this area, after all, so it could only be there if she wanted to stay within the Royal Guards' sights.

The two followed her, keeping up with her eager - if a little wobbly - pace outside.

The cool autumn wind hit her with the force of a dragon's wingbeat, but she was honestly too excited to let it bother her. Finally someone was showing some interest in dragons!

She didn't wait to see if the two were actually behind her or giving any thought to the many people around them. Instead, she immediately brought her hands up to her mouth and cupped it, before calling for her very best, scaled friend.

She didn't notice how the crowd tensed around her, some even slowly backing away. She could only hear the beat of wings quickly approaching.

She smiled - he'd brought Sunrose with him. She heard him land and then approach by foot, followed shortly after by Sunrose. It was only when he was right in front of her that he could be seen in the light, the rest of him obscured by the dark of the night.

That was when all Hell broke loose.